Jeff Malet Photography

Best Images of 2014

A dancer from the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe performs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. between June 25 and July 6. This year’s event featured the cultural heritage of China and Kenya.

Jerry Luftan (Bristow, VA) as the Hulk.
An estimated 40,000 visitors descended on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the District for the second annual Awesome Con D.C. for three days of panels, comic book displays and autograph signings on April 18 through 20.

Wearing a Superman outfit, 13 month old Larnell Maurice Perry Jr. is lifted in the air by U.S. President Barack Obama. Larnell's grandmother, Angelene C. Carter, died on September 11. She was an army accountant, only 51, from Maryland.
At a solemn ceremony, President Barack Obama observed the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon which claimed the lives of 184 individuals. The ceremony at the Pentagon was mostly private, attended by family members of victims of the attack, first responders and senior military and government officials. The public was allowed to view the memorial following the ceremony. Observances got underway in the D.C. area at dawn with the unfurling of an American flag down the side of the Pentagon. The tradition began Sept. 12, 2001, when firefighters unexpectedly got onto the building's roof and draped a large flag across the damaged building, a symbol of America's resolve. The commemoration service began at 9:30 a.m., hosted by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey. President Obama spoke following the playing of TAPS and a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., the moment an airliner hit the Pentagon. The President offered words of comfort to the families, telling them "Your love is the ultimate rebuke to the hatred of those who attacked us."

President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Freedom to Mildred Dresselhaus during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on November 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. The Medal of Freedom is the country's highest civilian honor. Mildred Dresselhaus is one of the most prominent physicists, materials scientists, and electrical engineers of her generation. A professor of physics and electrical engineering at MIT, she is best known for deepening our understanding of condensed matter systems and the atomic properties of carbon, which has contributed to major advances in electronics and materials research. (Photo by Jeff Malet)

The White House Correspondents' Association celebrated its 100th anniversary as it once again hosted members of the press, the government and the entertainment world for its annual event at the Washington Hilton on May 3

Thousands of kids joined the First Family on a sunny Easter Monday for the 136th White House annual Easter Egg Roll. An estimated 30,000 were on hand to see President Barack Obama introduce his wife Michelle as "the person who makes this all possible". The theme of this year's egg roll was “Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape,” part of the first lady’s Let’s Move initiative. The President once again read from “Where the Wild Things Are” and the First Lady greeted scores of children with hugs. The Obama kids, Sasha and Malia could not attend because they were in school, but the First Dogs, Bo and Sunny were on hand to greet the visitors

Thousands of conservative activists from across the United States attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor, MD on March 6-8.

Thousands of conservative activists from across the United States attended the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor, MD on March 6-8.

The U.S. Congress held a ceremony on Capitol Hill back on November 2, 2011 to award the Congressional Gold Medal, its highest civilian honor, to more than 1,000 Japanese-American veterans, many now in their 90s, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.

The actual gold medal presented to these war heroes went on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in a special ceremony this Wednesday, Feb. 19, the "Annual Day of Remembrance," marking the 72nd anniversary of the signing of the 1942 law by President Franklin Roosevelt which led to the imprisonment of 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Ten of these veterans attended the ceremony, followed by a panel discussion at the Smithsonian. The medal will return to Washington, following a seven-city tour throughout the United States.